More than 1,400 ballots issued for the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) directors’ elections in odd-numbered districts this fall have been voided and new ones mailed out. A computer glitch had some farmers voting in the wrong district, CWB election co-ordinator Ian Craven of Meyers Norris Penny explained in an interview Nov. 5. “It was very
Mix-Up Affects Five Per Cent Of CWB Ballots
Atamanenko Takes Motion To End C-474 Hearings Personally
Norma l l y, mot ions such as the one to extend hearings on Bill C-474, are rubber stamped by Parliament. But Alex Atamanenko, the NDP MP for B.C. Southern Interior, says the Conservatives engineered the motion’s defeat in the House of Commons Oct. 27. Atamanenko, who is a member of the House of Commons’
Monsanto Encourages U.S. Farmers To Use Additional Herbicides
Monsanto will pay American farmers to use at least one herbicide in addition to glyphosate on Roundup Ready soybeans next year. It seems odd to promote a competitor’s product, but it’s part of Monsanto’s effort to prevent more weeds becoming resistant to glyphosate, Monsanto spokeswoman Janice Person said in an interview from St. Louis, Nov.
Manitoba’s Northern Port Exported 656,298 Tonnes Of Grain In 2010
The Port of Churchill shipped 656,298 tonnes of grain this year, the second-highest tonnage ever. “The goal remains handling a million tonnes,” said Mike Ogborn executive vice-president of OmniTRAX Canada, which owns the port and the railway that serves it. “And we’re moving towards that. This has been a good year and we want to
Hearings On GM Regulation Bill C-474 Shut Down
Preventing genetically modified (GM) crops from contaminating non-GM crops is practically impossible. That’s the message weed scientist Rene Van Acker would have given the House of Commons’ agriculture committee hearing on Bill C-474 in Ottawa Oct. 28, had he been given the opportunity. But hearings on NDP MP Alex Atamanenko’s legislation came to an abrupt
Producer Car History
Farmers gained the right to load their own grain in May 1902 through an amendment to the Manitoba Grain Act, after it became apparent elevator companies and the railways conspired to prevent farmers loading cars themselves. The amendment introduced the “Car Order Book” – allocating cars on a first-come, first-served basis. The Canadian Pacific Railway
Bill To Protect Producer Car Sites
Saskatchewan MP Ralph Goodale has introduced a private member’s bill that would require railways to give three years’ notice instead of 60 days to scrap a producer car siding. Bill C-586 would amend the Canada Transportation Act so that the process to discontinue a producer car siding is similar to abandoning rail lines. It received
Kane No. 1 In Manitoba
Kane is still the king of wheats in Manitoba af ter dethroning longt ime monarch AC Barrie last year, but Glenn and Harvest aren’t far behind. Kane, a relatively new variety, accounted for 25.4 per cent of the Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) wheat acres seeded in Manitoba this spring, according to the Canadian Wheat
Masc Hail Premium Rebate Coming
The Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation is refunding $669,000 to 1,400 farmers after reviewing its policy on how to treat drowned-out acres for which farmers had purchased hail insurance. The change means farmers will get half their MASC hail insurance premium refunded on acres enrolled in the Canada- Manitoba Excess Moisture Assistance Program (CMEMAP). “Early in
Bill To Assess Market Impact Of GM Crops In Doubt
Aprivate member’s bill seeking legislation to assess “the potent ial harm to (Canadian) export markets” from new genetically modified (GM) crops, faces a lot of hurdles. The House of Commons was to vote this week on whether to extend the agriculture committee’s hearings on NDP MP Alex Atamanenko’s private member’s bill. Extensions are normally rubber